Shipping crate



D. J. McCLA'RY SHIPPING CRATE June 6, 1933.

Filed Dec. 5, 1932 Patented June 6, 1933 UNITED STATES v; Davis MCCLARY, or woRonsTEn, MASSACHUSETTS, AssreNon To BAK R Box COMPANY, or wononsTua, MAssaorrusuTTs, Acoaroaarrorr or MASSACHUSETTS PATENT OFFICE SHIPPING CRATE Application filed December 5, 1932. Serial No. 645,715.

This invention relates to a crate for holding milk-bottles or other similar objects for storage, handling or shipping. i

In the manufacture of such cratesas heretofore carried on, crates have been made having one-piece sides and ends, andcrates have also been made in which each side and end has been made up of a plurality of entirely separate narrow slats.

The one-piece construction was found objectionable 011 account of the effect of the but has proved slow and troublesome in assembly and also lacking in the stiffness and rigidity required to meet the severe conditions of use.

It is the general object of my invention to provide a shipping crate having the advan tages of the slatted construction as to swelling, combined with the stiffness and ease of assembly of the one-piece construction.

To the attainment of this object, I provide a crate in which each side or end is composed of two or more members, which memhere are inter-connected in such a way that the box presents the rigidity and ease of assembly of the one-piece construction while the transverse swelling at the outer edges is substantially reduced.

My invention further relates to arrangements and combinations of parts which will be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

A preferred form of my improved shipping crate, together with a modification thereof, is shown in the drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my improved shi ping crate;

ig. 2 is a plan view of the sides and ends assembled;

Figs. 3 and 4 are end and side views respectively of the parts shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a partial perspective View of the assembled sides and ends after an additional operation has been performed thereon, and Fig. 6; is aview similar to Fig. 5 but showing a slightly modified construction.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 5, my improved shipping crate comprises sides. 10, ends 11, inner corner pieceslQ, outer corner pieces 13 and the usual plurality of spacing and supporting cross rods 14.

In the process of manufacturing my improved shipping crate, I first prepare onepiece wooden sides and ends 11, it being understood that these sides and ends may be formed from single pieces of wood or may built up from two or more pieces permanently secured together in any usual manner as by tongues and grooves and /or gluing.

These sides and ends are then assembled by nailing them together to form a rectangular frame open at the top and bottom, as shownin Figs. 2, 3 and 4. During this operation, the nails 15 are inserted in carefully spaced relation, substantially as shown in Fig. 5 and fora purpose which will hereinafter appear.

Reenforcing strips may be applied to the box at this stage of the construction, as in dicated at 17 in Figs. 3 and 4, or thesestrips may be applied at the time the corner pieces are attached, as may be found most convenient.

After the sides 10 and ends 11 have been assembled and nailed together as above described, each assembled side or end is then separated into two parts by forming relatively wide saw cuts 20 and 21 therein. The saw cuts 20 divide each side 10 into a relatively narrow upper portion 20 and a wider lower portion 20 Similarly each. end 11 is divided into a relatively narrow lower relatively wider upper porstructure after the saw cuts 20 and 21 have been formed therein, but at the same time the width of each side or end member is substantially less than in the one-piece construction. The relatively wide saw cuts 20 and 21 permit the narrowed side and end members to swell in both directions, thus reducing the swelling at the outer edges to a negligible and unobjectionable amount.

After the saw cuts have been formed,"it will be evident that the previously assembled structure retains its original shape and that all parts remain in assembled relation, so that the corner pieces 12 and 13 and cross bars 14 may be inserted or attached as easily as in the one-piece construction.

If it is desired to still further reduce the effects of swelling of the sides or ends, two saw cuts 30 6) may be made in each side member and two cuts 31 in each end member, thus dividing each side and end member into two wider parts and one narrower part, all of which, however, have the overlapping and interconnected relation previously described, so that the parts remain in firm and rigid assembled relation after the cuts 30 and 31 have been made.

Obviously a two-part end as shown in Fig. 5 may be assembled with the three-part side shown in F ig.. 6, or a one-piece end as shown in Fig. 3 may be assembled with the twopiece side of Fig. 5.

In commercial use, it has been found that the single saw cuts 20 and 21 illustrated in Figs. 1 and 5 are sufiicient to reduce the outward swelling of the parts to a negligible amount.

From the foregoing description it will be evident that my improved crate embodies the ease of assembly, together with the stiffness and rigidity, of the previously used one-piece construction, while at the same time the advantage of the slatted construction in reducing swelling of the sides and ends has been attained.

Having thus described my invention and the advantages thereof, I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than as set forth in the claims, but what I claim is 1. A shipping crate comprising side and end members and article-supporting elements, each side and each end member comprising a plurality of pieces of wood of different widths difierently arranged in the side and end members, and each wider piece in one type of member having two pieces of both of the other type of member secured to the ends thereof in spaced relation, said sides andends thereby forming in themselves a rigid assembled structure. 7 v

2. A shipping crate comprising side and end members and article-supporting elements, each side and each end member comprising a. plurality of pieces of wood of difand article-supporting elements, each side and each end comprising two longitudinally extending pieces of wood of different widths, and said side and end pieces being arranged in different order and'in spaced relation and being interconnected and secured to each other, whereby said sides and ends form in themselves a rigid assembled structure.

4. A shipping crate comprising sides, ends and article-supporting elements, each side and each end comprising two longitudinally extended pieces of wood of different widths, said pieces being reversely arranged in spaced relation in the sides and ends, and means securing both parts of each side to the wider parts of both ends, and both parts of each end to the wider parts of both sides, said sides and ends thereby forming in themselves a rigid assembled structure.

5. The method of making a shipping crate which comprises providing one-piece sides and ends, assembling and securing said sides and ends to form an open rectangular frame, and thereafter forming a relatively wide saw cut in each side and end, the cuts in the sides being substantially nearer to one edge of said rectangular frame and the cuts in the ends being substantially nearer to the other edge of said frame.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature.

DAVID J. MOCLARY. 

